Today a sweet friend of mine is leaving for a year while her husband goes to serve our country. I'm happy that she gets to go be with family and introduce them to her beautiful baby girl, but it's always a little sad to say goodbye to good friends whether it's them going away or us going away. My kids absolutely love her and her baby girl...Braden is fascinated with her baby and is so sweet to her. We will miss you Josy and wish you and your family safe travels. We will look forward to seeing you when you return!

TODAY

Although we are many miles apart, Alan and I celebrated our 8th anniversary today. Thank you Alan for 8 wonderful years...I love you so much. You are an amazing husband and father. Thank you for giving us such a great life and for taking such good care of your family. Thank you for your service to our country...you are our hero. We love you lots and lots and miss you lots and lots!

My beautiful, surprise delivery

Oh yeah, I also turned the BIG 3-0 today! I had a nice day...my parents did a great job making it a special day. Thank you mom and dad, I love you! I had a nice lunch this afternoon with 3 great women...thank you ladies and thanks again Anica! I had a nice dinner at Olive Garden with 3 great kids (thank you for being so well behaved at dinner) and 2 great parents (thank you for the treat!). I got some nice gifts, cards, e-mails, texts and phone calls...thank you everyone! I got to talk to my wonderful husband too. And I got to eat my most favorite kind of cake made by my mom...yellow cake with my favoritest chocolate frosting made from scratch! I also got to deal with a very 2 year old girl today! Thanks to everyone who made my day special...I love you all!

I had a night off last night from Monday Makings and grandma had a special/secret Monday Makings with the kids. Here they are...3 super cute cards with 3 special messages on the inside...priceless!

The kids were sooo excited to give me the gifts that they picked out all on their own!

Bailee gave me a Kelly Clarkson CD (she knows I'm a huge fan!), a pretty necklace and some cute bracelets.

Braden gave me a cute bracelet and the book Twilight (I have not yet read the series...yes I know I'm a little behind the times!)

Brikelle gave me the ABBA Gold CD (hooray!) and a big box of Junior Mints which she didn't want to share! Thank you kiddies, I love you 3 lots!

So good bye to the 20's and hello to the 30's!

Fire Ants

You know that old saying "If you play with fire you're going to get burned", well I have a new saying, "If you mess with fire ants you're going to get bit". Unfortunately Braden found that out the hard way. Yesterday was a really nice day weather wise so Braden spent a lot of time playing outside. So yesterday evening Braden was out playing with one of his neighborhood friends and apparently they decided to mess with an ant hill. I don't know the whole story and I don't exactly know what they were doing, but obviously whatever they were doing the ants didn't like! Braden came in crying and took off his shoes and said the ants bit him. He was scratching his feet like crazy. I decided to just have Braden go and take a bath before dinner because he was so filthy. Once he took off his clothes and was in the tub I noticed "bites" (or so I thought) all over his body. He was still crying and scratching himself everywhere like crazy. Luckily we had some Children's Benadryl on hand so I gave him some to help with the itching. Then I noticed that his eyes were starting to swell and he started coughing and that's when I finally realized that although he did have some ant bites on his feet and back, it was hives that were covering his body from head to toe and he was having a severe allergic reaction to the ant bites. That's when the worry and the panic started to set in with me, especially when I could tell his breathing was starting to be affected by it. I've had an allergic reaction before and I know the feeling of your throat swelling and it isn't fun. Thankfully grandpa and grandma are here so I wasn't alone and that kept me from freaking out too much! And thankfully the Benadryl worked pretty quick and Braden was back to running around and being crazy and hyper soon after. Today Braden has very swollen, red, itchy, hurty feet and is walking funny because of it! He still has little spots of rash here and there on his body but seems to be doing fine. I just hope he learned his lesson! Of course taking a picture of him yesterday was the last thing on my mind, but here are a picture of his little feet the day after. He has chubby feet anyway but they are extra chubby today!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Monday Makings

This week we frosted sugar cookies! Grandma made homemade sugar cookies and homemade green frosting...YUM! Unlike our Christmas sugar cookies, these cookies were actually soft and edible!

Braden's Birthday Fun

I'm a little slow at getting these pictures up (sorry Daddy!). Braden had a wonderful birthday and although he was bummed that daddy wasn't here to celebrate with us, he was very happy that Grandma and Grandpa were here for his big day. His day started off with a donut with five candles and the Happy Birthday song. He then got to open his big present from mom and dad...a Star Wars voice activated helmet! He also got a special birthday call from his daddy! The afternoon of his birthday was low key, he just played with his new toy. Once I picked Bailee up from school, we headed to Chuck-E-Cheese. Chuck-E-Cheese is a place that Alan and I try to avoid, especially on Saturdays in this town! Braden has never been to Chuck-E-Cheese before (that he can remember) and has always wanted to experience it. So being the nice mom I am, I decided to give that special boy and special treat! Going on a Tuesday afternoon was not bad at all...thank goodness! After the fun at Chuck-E-Cheese, we came back home to those much awaited presents and yummy cake and ice cream. Braden chose a Pirates of the Caribbean birthday this year. I'm pretty sure he had a very enjoyable birthday. He told me more than once that "this is the best birthday ever!" And said that Chuck-E-Cheese was "the bestest present ever!" Isn't it wonderful to hear and see how excited your little ones get?! It definitely makes everything worth while!

Birthday Boy!

Today (March 10th) our Braden Boy is 5!!! Wow, that was definitely a quick five years. Braden is so excited to be 5 and he can't wait to start Kindergarten in the fall! Braden has been such a fun little boy to have in our family...he brings us joy and laughter each and everyday. As a baby he was so easy going and always so happy...he was such a good and easy baby. Braden has always enjoyed life and lives life to the fullest everyday. His passions are Star Wars, Pirates and of course he still loves Thomas the Train & Friends, and any trains for that matter. Braden is definitely ALL boy and is FULL of energy! He loves to play with his toys, play outside and watch movies. He loves pizza, spaghetti, Pop Tarts, and cereal...it's hard to get him to eat much more than that! He enjoys playing with his sister Bailee and enjoys being a big brother to his sister Brikelle. He is very loving and you can always count on him to give you a big hug and kiss. He tells me numerous times a day, "I have a surprise for you" then surprises me with a big ol' Braden hug! He loves to be funny and make people laugh. He keeps us laughing constantly with things he says and does. He also has really gotten into drawing and writing and likes to tape his art work up all over the house! Braden Boy, your family loves you so much and we hope you have a Happy Birthday!

His birthday pictures are to come...we can't start the real partying until Bailee is home from school!

Monday Makings

Trying to think of St. Patrick's Day crafts isn't easy...there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of variety. I found a cute idea online to make a shamrock tree. So the kids made shamrock trees and then we went the extra mile and added a rainbow and a pot of gold. The kids thought it was great and they were very creative. Brikelle had a really good time gluing and painting all by herself! Thank goodness for Crayola and their washable paints!